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“OUR TOWN captures and preserves the essence of this place, with all its eccentricity and complexity. The stunning final product leaves even a longtime resident like me feeling she never really knew the place.” REVIEW

Our Documentary

KELLY JOHNSON’s decision to end his life was his final gift to the neighborhood he loved. This documentary, filmed entirely on Fillmore Street, captures his joyous final weeks. VIEW

In one of the more unusual examples of architectural ornament in San Francisco, a circle of lady bugs surrounds what appears to be a 1915 Ford Model-T Roadster. They adorn the facade of the architecturally significant 94-year-old garage that is home to Hayes Auto Repair at 2401 Bush Street, between Pierce and Scott.

Perhaps it was just a whimsical detail added by the architect, James R. Miller, or his favorite draftsman, then-24-year-old Timothy L. Pflueger.

Miller & Pflueger would become well-known in the 1920s and 1930s for projects such as the city’s first high-rise at 140 New Montgomery, the Stock Exchange building and club, the medical building at 450 Sutter, the Castro and Paramount Theaters and other major buildings, many in what is now referred to as the Art Deco style.

But before these high profile projects, where Pflueger would make a name for himself as a master of the style, Miller was building their architectural practice. Residential and commercial work came into the office consistently after the 1906 earthquake, and Miller and his crew, including the young Pflueger, a San Francisco native who grew up in the Mission District, were busy.

The garage at 2401 Bush Street is an example of Miller’s eclectic take on the Renaissance revival style, which he and his chief draftsman Pflueger would use again in the Redwood City Firehouse — now the Redwood City Public Library — three years later. Like the firehouse, the Bush Street garage is faced in brick and highlighted by graceful arches. The long building dominates the block, which it shares with the California Tennis Club. The garage is characterized by an unusual broken-pitch roof and three arched entrances, two for vehicles and one for the office. Mullioned windows add a French twist to the Italianate arches. The roofline is richly carved.

Ornamental ladybugs surround a Roadster at 2401 Bush.

In 1901, Pardon A. Cook, who owned a large swath of real estate in the neighborhood, hired a contractor to build a one-story building with an attic on the Bush Street lot. But he suffered “a stroke of apoplexy” on March 15, 1901, which rendered him mentally incompetent. When he died later that year, his wife Lizzie J. Cook inherited about $15,000 in cash and property all over the Western Addition valued at more than $120,000, according to a probate listing in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Two of his three daughters, Inez Cook Noble and Alice Cook Swan, ultimately inherited the property from their mother. In December 1915, they filed a permit seeking to build a brick store and garage, with Miller as the architect, for $14,700.

It appears that the sisters quickly found a tenant — two brothers who operated a garage just across the street from the Cook family home at 2212 Sutter Street. The brothers, Edward and Charles Fisher, were both in their early 40s and had moved to San Francisco from Marin County. Inez and her husband, Paul Noble, a physician, lived on the same block at 2298 Sutter Street. The Nobles must have been pleased with the work of Miller and his protege, because they hired the two again in 1916 to design a small bungalow in Los Altos.

By June of 1917, the two brothers were operating their garage, known as the Fisher Brothers, at 2407 Bush Street, one of several addresses used through the years for this expansive building, according to city directories.

The firm also began selling Ford automobiles at the same address, becoming one of 12 Ford dealers around the city. Most of the big auto showrooms congregated on Van Ness Avenue, also known as Auto Row, where Miller & Pflueger were among many local architects to design elegant selling rooms in the 1920s.

The car business continued to boom in the ’20s, along with the economy and the stock market. By 1925, another partner, William B. Teall, joined Fisher Brothers. The dealership changed its name to Fisher Teall Motor Co. and moved to 1955 Post Street. Another garage operator took over the Bush Street space.

Today, the building is owned by Alan Yukawa, whose father bought it 41 years ago. Yukawa said he believed AT&T had occupied the site at one point, and also a plumbing supply company. His family turned it back into an auto repair shop.

As for the ladybugs that grace the front of the building, they remain a mystery.

Current Issue

STREET TALK

LA BOULANGE TURNING INTO A NEW PIZZERIA

Workers are hammering and sawing away inside the long-shuttered La Boulange storefront on Fillmore. A sign promises it will be the new home of apizza, serving up “a pizza for everyone” that is fast and affordable — complete with organic dough and sauce.

Details are scant, but the quintessentially French Pierre Lauga, in charge for owner Pascal Rigo, promises pizzas will be priced reasonably, starting at $2.75 for a 10-incher. There’s speculation the ovens will be fired up and serving in late March.

In addition to pizza, beer and frozen yogurt will also be on the menu.

THREE DAY WEEKENDS AT THE ELITE CAFE

The Elite Cafe has extended its weekend brunch to Friday, trimming a day from Spacious, the co-working space that occupies the restaurant weekdays until 5 p.m.

For six years, the helpful staff offered hundreds of tastes at Spice Ace, the culinary boutique at 1821 Steiner named one of the world’s best spice shops.

But early in the new year, owners and neighborhood residents Olivia Dillan and Ben Balzer announced they would be closing the shop. Then came an ourpouring of appreciation from fans who swarmed the shop to stock their spice racks.

“January was our biggest month ever — even with a 30 percent discount,” says Dillan. “It was a customer success and a culinary success, if not a financial success. That means a lot.”

POPPING UP AND STICKING AROUND

Lots of new pop-ups are showing up on Fillmore, and some of them stick around.

Zuri, the three-month one-dress shop at 2029 Fillmore, has now moved into a long-term home at 1902 Fillmore, where Narumi Japanese antiques shuttered last fall after 37 years.

And Sweet & Spark, which first popped up inside Mudpie, has taken over the former hair salon at 2412 Fillmore.

“The state of retail has changed dramatically,” said Vasilios Kiniris, executive director of Fillmore’s merchants and a citywide merchant leader, who sees “many advantages” to pop-ups. “Business owners can dip their feet into a commercial community and see if their product or service is a good fit.”

A BUFFETT’SBACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Investor Warren Buffett’s late wife Susie lived in Pacific Heights for a time, and his son Peter owned a home on Scott Street.

Now his Berkshire Hathaway branded residential real estate company has opened an office in the neighborhood, taking the two spaces on California Street previously occupied by the Vino wine shop and Kuraya antiques. Paula Gold-Nocella and Peter Shovanes are leading the office.

LET US COUNT OUR MICHELIN STARS

How fortunate are we to live in this neighborhood? The new Michelin guide offers a clue.

• Three Fillmore restaurants got a star: SPQR, the Progress and State Bird Provisions, plus Octavia at Octavia and Bush and Spruce on Sacramento.

• At 3127 Fillmore, Atelier Crenn got three stars. Next door, the new Bar Crenn also got a star.

• And we can still claim Quince, now all beautifully grown up in Jackson Square, which also got a full set of three stars, and first planted its roots where Octavia is now.